Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Teacher Collaboration And Teachers' Level Of Knowledge, Implementation, And Confidence Related To Common Core State Standards For Literacy In History/Social Studies, Science And Technical Subject Areas, Talia Shaunte' Lock

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between elements of teacher collaboration and teachers’ level of knowledge, level of implementation, and level of confidence related to CCSS for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subject Areas in grades 6-12. The study included an extensive literature that included an introduction, pertinent literature and research regarding literacy in the 21^st century, CCSS, cross curriculum, teacher collaboration, the role of leadership, and the theoretical framework. The study also included the methodology, research results, the conclusions, recommendations for policymakers and practitioners, and recommendations for further research.

It was discovered …

Novelty Or Knowledge? A Study Of Using A Student Response System In Non-Major Biology Courses At A Community College, Tasha Herrington Thames

Dissertations

The advancement in technology integration is laying the groundwork of a paradigm shift in the higher education system (Noonoo, 2011). The National Dropout Prevention Center (n.d.) [JS1] claims that technology offers some of the best opportunities for presenting instruction to engage students in meaningful education, addressing multiple intelligences, and adjusting to students’ various learning styles. The purpose of this study was to investigate if implementing clicker technology would have a statistically significant difference on student retention and student achievement, while controlling for learning styles, for students in non-major biology courses who were and were not subjected to the technology. This …

Investigations Of The Photocatalytic Activity And Self-Cleaning Properties Of Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (Poss) Containing Titania Thiol-Ene Films, Lacrissia Unsonta Jefferson

Dissertations

In this document the film composition, self-cleaning aspect, photocatalytic efficiency, and methods employed to analyze a novel photocatalytic titania-containing thin film was evaluated. A primary objective of this research project was to assess the conditions required to achieve a stable titania dispersion for the photocatalytic coating and to determine the extent to which the presence of additives contributes to this process. Modified titania dispersions were prepared and characterized via dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Characterization details of the previous focus on the influence of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) …

Relationships Of Parental Homeschooling Approaches Including Technology Integration, Letitia Annette Walters

Dissertations

This study examined the factors influencing parental selection of homeschooling approaches for their children and the utilization of technology integrated. Factors explored were parental motivators for selecting homeschooling approaches, parental reasons for choosing to homeschooling, technology device usage, and instructional technology integration. The population consisted of parents with at least one year or more of experience in teaching homeschooling and the primary educator being involved in answering the survey. Participants in this study responded to items from a researcher-adapted questionnaire using. The majority of the participants were from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Kentucky. A Bachelor's degree was reported as the highest …

The Influence Of Texting And Virtual Peers On Adolescent Alcohol Use, Eric Steven Gregory

Dissertations

The Social Development Theory has guided substance abuse prevention planning and programming for the past two decades. One of the key risk factors cited in and targeted by Social Development Model strategies is that of the influence of peers on adolescent substance use. With the advent of modern cellular technology, the manner in which adolescents currently interact has shifted in preference from that of traditional face-to-face to interaction through text messaging. Recent research has suggested a link between the frequency of adolescent texting behavior and adolescent substance use. This shift in interaction may influence the mechanisms of peer influence and …

The Assessment Of Organizational Culture And Servant Leadership Within An African American Church: A Descriptive Study Of Behavioral Norms And Expectations, Walter Malone Iii

Dissertations

The lack of success in nonprofit organizations often is due to challenges in management (Drucker, 2008). Faith-based organizations are not immune to these problems. The church struggles to live out its mission, often due to ineffective practices (Barna & Jackson, 2004). Chand (2011) asserted that it is the culture of an organization that builds or erodes its effectiveness. In the context of the church, servant leadership practices are considered to be a contributing factor to organizational effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to examine organizational culture and servant leadership as perceived by the leadership team of an African American …

Oil Price Movements And Equity Returns: Evidence From The Gcc Countries, Fathi M. Mohalhal

Dissertations

This study examines to what extent how oil movements differently affect equity returns in general and sectoral levels of the GCC countries stock markets. Modeling the equity returns volatility requires using GARCH-type models. These models help to explore the pronounced differences of the conditional variance structures across sectors and markets. Chapter 1 compares the effects of changes in oil price return and its volatility on equity returns and volatility across sectors. The findings of this chapter show that despite the GCC states dependency on oil revenues, equity market performance at the sectoral level do not exactly associate with oil movements. …

Towards Combined Computational And Experimental Studies On Toxicity Of Silver Nanoparticles, Pamela Cabalu Ubaldo

Dissertations

Despite the growing applications of silver nanoparticles, toxicity information on this nanomaterial is still deficient. Conclusions on the toxicity of silver nanoparticles vary and atomic level toxicity mechanisms are not yet achieved. Consequently, our group conducted combined computational and experimental toxicity studies of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Toxicity of 10 nm citrate stabilized AgNPs on HepG2 cells were investigated. Experimental results show that the 10 nm citrate stabilized AgNPs begin to be toxic to HepG2 cells at a dosage that exceeds 1 ppm and LD50 was observed at 3 ppm. Elevated reactive oxygen species levels were seen upon exposure to AgNPs …

Qualitative Study Of The United States Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment, Webster F. Nicholson Jr.

Dissertations

Serious health care issues were discovered first at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2007 and later at U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs health care organizations in 2014 (Brady, 2012; Cohen, Griffin, & Bronstein, 2014; Wright, 2013). The continued success of the Wounded Warrior Program requires a system that will constantly assess and analyze health care quality from the patient’s experience. From a systems perspective, health care quality encompasses six dimensions, and the study involved examining the dimension and four core concepts of patient-centered care (Institute of Medicine, 2001; Lees, 2011; Wexler, 2002; World Health Organization, 2006). A qualitative, phenomenological …

What Superintendents Should Do To Position Their Districts To Be Prepared For The Changing Nature Of Technology In The Next Ten Years: A Delphi Study, Ean Ainsworth

Dissertations

Over the past twenty years, schools and districts have been faced with the challenge of integrating technology into their classroom instruction. The rapid rate of evolution that technology changes has placed new burdens on school and district leaders to plan meaningful professional development, create and develop effective policy, and focus on school and district culture. In the coming years, the changing nature of technology is not expected to slow down and most certainly will accelerate. The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify what K-12 superintendents should do to position their districts to be prepared for the changing nature …

A Delphi Study: Technology Leadership Network’S Perceptions Of Iste Essential Conditions For Technology Integration In Professional Learning Communities, Amna K. Ahmad

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

A Delphi Study: Technology Leadership Network Perceptions of ISTE Essential Conditions for Technology Integration in Professional Learning Communities

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify the essential conditions (ISTE) required for technology integration in Professional Learning Communities for building effective teams, promoting collaboration, and endorsing shared decision making processes as perceived by members of the joint Technology Leadership Network of the Riverside County Office of Education and San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, California.

Methodology: A structured Delphi Study using mixed methods was conducted to find the expert panel’s opinions, the members of the Technology Leadership …

Transient Cardiovascular Hemodynamics In A Patient-Specific Arterial System, Jr Rodward Hewlin

Dissertations

The ultimate goal of the present study is to aid in the development of tools to assist in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Gaining an understanding of hemodynamic parameters for medical implants allow clinicians to have some patient-specific proposals for intervention planning. In the present study a full cardiovascular experimental phantom and digital phantom (CFD model) was fabricated to study: (1) the effects of local hemodynamics on global hemodynamics, (2) the effects of transition from bed-rest to upright position, and (3) transport of dye (drug delivery) in the arterial system. Computational three dimensional (3-D) models (designs A, B, and C) …

Zoom: The Changing Nature Of Middle School Shared Instructional Leadership On The Way To The Common Core, Ann M. Yanchura

Dissertations

The complexities, diversity, and nuances of schools today require the shared leadership of the best and brightest that education has to offer. All across the country, school districts are embarking on the challenging journey toward higher and better standards and performance found in the adoption of the Common Core State Standards. This dissertation describes the early CCSS implementation efforts of the middle schools in a Midwest suburban district. In particular, it examines the instructional leadership that was shared among the administrators and literacy coaches who led the adoption and implementation of the new Standards. The research was conducted during their …

Integration Of Technology Into The Classroom Environment: A Study Of Student Perceptions As Related To Skill Attainment, Richard M. Sullivan

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to contribute to available literature by ascertaining student perceptions of benefits of student access to technology as correlated to students’ standardized test scores. Students and teachers were surveyed for perceptions of technology benefits. Survey results were analyzed and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated comparing student perceptions to standardized Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) grade-level assessment results. As described in specific detail in this paper, it was found student standardized MAP testing data were positively correlated to the introduction of technology-integrated instruction in the classroom setting. Student perceptions indicated a more positive linear association to …

Development Of A Therapeutic Model Of Early Liver Cancer Using Crocin-Coated Magnetite Nanoparticles, Rkia El-Kharrag

Dissertations

Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common health problems that is difficult to treat. As a result of the side effects frequently experienced with conventional cancer treatments, there has been a growing interest to develop controlled drug delivery system that can reduce the mortality rate of liver cancer patients and un-harm healthy tissues. Magnetite nanoparticles are potentially important in hepatocellular carcinoma treatment, since they can be used as delivery system. Pure and coated magnetite nanoparticles were synthesized via modified co-precipitation method in air at low temperature. Various reaction parameters and coating materials have been investigated and characterized. Among these …

Identification Of Employee Engagement Practices Viewed As Critical To Retention: A Cross-Generational Comparison, Sharon R. Floyd

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify the employee engagement practices that millennial IT workers perceive as important to retention. The secondary purpose of the study was to determine whether a difference exists between the engagement practices that appeal to millennial IT workers and the engagement practices that appeal to remaining IT working groups, which include the baby boomers and generation X.

Methodology. A quantitative, descriptive, survey-based research method was chosen for this study. The population included information technology workers representing three generations of working adults, including baby boomers, generation Xers, and millennials. The sample included technology workers …

Can Wikipedia Article Traffic Statistics Be Used To Verify A Technical Indicator? An Exploration Into The Correlation Between Wikipedia Article Traffic Statistics And The Coppock Technical Indicator., Cormac O'Connor

Dissertations

Recent studies have shown that, through the quantification of Wikipedia Usage Patterns as a result of information gathering, stock market moves can be predicted (Moat et al 2013). There was also research performed to determine the predictive nature of Wikipedia Data to predict movie box office success (Mestyan et al. 2013). The goal of any investor, in order to maximize the return of their investments, is to have an edge over other participants in the markets. Several tools and techniques have been used over the years to fulfil this, some proving to generate a consistent stream of income (Gillen 2012). …

A Mixed Methods Analysis On Creative Leadership And Missouri School Administrators, Tiffany Lynn Jarvis

Dissertations

In this mixed methods study, the researcher investigated whether or not Missouri school administrators were prepared to meet the creative leadership demands of the 21st century by measuring their creative capacity, creative styles, and their current creative leadership practices. A convenience sample of Missouri K-12 public school administrators and teachers completed the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults, the Creativity Styles Questionnaire – Revisited and an original Organizational Creativity Survey; two homogenous small focus groups discussed their experiences regarding creativity and creative leadership within school organizations. Whereas teachers were statistically significantly more creative than the normed adult population, administrators did not …

Military Resilience And Transformation: A Narrative Inquiry Highlighting The Challenges Faced By Military Veterans Of The Wars In Iraq And Afghanistan During Their Transition From Combat To Civil Society, Russell S. Lowe

Dissertations

This research examines major transitions in military life experienced by veterans of the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These transitions include reintegration challenges that deployed military members encounter as they blend back into family, community, church and a peacetime setting, from the war-zone to a civilian career and lifestyle. While most military personnel are resilient and have the ability to recover from the difficult circumstances associated with combat, such as experiences and exposure to traumatic situations, many experience problems handling stress over the months or years of transitioning from a war-zone to civil society. The research focused on: the …

Resonating Frequencies Of A Virtual Learning Community: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Online Faculty Development At Columbia College Chicago, David S. Noffs

Dissertations

Despite opportunities for artist educators to locate their practice in online learning environments, many remain reluctant to embrace virtual classrooms. As schools are being forced to create an increasing array of online courses, administrators are reluctant or unable to provide additional resources for equipping faculty with the skills needed to support online course development. Specific guidelines to train faculty how to teach online are often fragmented or local. Programs that demonstrate the ability to grow vibrant and connected online cultures may help guide future faculty development.

The Virtual Learning Community (VLC) Fellowship program at Columbia College Chicago supports informal, faculty …

Secondary Administrators' Perceptions Of The Blended Coaching Model On Their Development As Transformational Leaders, Janine Ezaki

Dissertations

School principals are expected to lead the major changes and intense curricular work of implementing Common Core State Standards at their school sites. In addition to existing administrative duties and instructional responsibilities, this calls for site administrators to possess transformational leadership skills and attributes in order to lead effectively and purposefully through change in the 21st century. Since education has begun to value leadership coaching for school administrators, this study examined the coaching model as a viable means of support for novice administrators in their development as transformational leaders. The purpose of this ethnographic research was to study the culture …

Assessment Of Risk Factors And Mitigation To Adoption Of The California Community College Online Education Initiative, Scott J. Conrad

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize a list of implementation risk factors and suggested mitigation measures for the development team of the California Community Colleges (CCC) Online Education Initiative (OEI) to improve the probability of successful implementation. This study led to the development of an authoritative and comprehensive prioritized list of risk factors and user-recommended mitigation strategies for the risks of a large-scale shared learning management system (LMS) implementation. The data collected and the conclusions derived from surveying college administrators and faculty are intended to augment the literature as well as advance the understanding of how …

Developing An Insulin Producing Tissue Using Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells, Neha Mahendrakumar Jain

Dissertations

This thesis describes derivation of pancreatic insulin producing cells (IPCs) from mouse embryonic stem cells and development of three-dimensional (3D) engineered tissue system to provide physiologic culture conditions for IPCs. Upon using a previously established protocol, IPCs have been successfully derived from mouse embryonic stem cells and characterized in vitro . IPCs not only express classical markers of pancreatic beta cells but also exhibit glucose responsive behavior. Interestingly while deriving IPCs from mouse embryonic stem cells, islet endothelial cells have also been identified and successfully isolated from the culture. Derivation of a pure population of endothelial cells expressing specific markers …

Local Selection Of Features And Its Applications To Image Search And Annotation, Jichao Sun

Dissertations

In multimedia applications, direct representations of data objects typically involve hundreds or thousands of features. Given a query object, the similarity between the query object and a database object can be computed as the distance between their feature vectors. The neighborhood of the query object consists of those database objects that are close to the query object. The semantic quality of the neighborhood, which can be measured as the proportion of neighboring objects that share the same class label as the query object, is crucial for many applications, such as content-based image retrieval and automated image annotation. However, due to …

Mueller Matrix Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Of Multiferroics, Roman Basistyy

Dissertations

Multiferroics, materials which possess several ferroic orders, are the focus of research in recent years. Among these materials are oxide crystals, such as, for example, RMnO₃, RMn₂O₅, R₃Fe₅O₁₂, where R stands for rare earth ions. The most fascinating physics occurs when magnon-lattice coupling reveals itself in the far-IR spectra of multiferroics. The expected optical behavior puts multiferroics into a more general category of bi-anisotropic materials, the properties of which could be only described using anisotropic dielectric ε(ω), magnetic μ(ω), and …

An Analysis Of The Predictive Capability Of C5.0 And Chaid Decision Trees And Bayes Net In The Classification Of Fatal Traffic Accidents In The Uk, Aiden O'Connor

Dissertations

Road traffic accidents are a significant cause of deaths worldwide and there is a global focus on understanding accident contributory factors and implementing prevention strategies. Although accident statistics are steadily improving, effective prevention must be persistent, evidence based and properly resourced. This research aimed to extract fatal traffic accident prediction from UK STATS19 accident data using C5.0 and Chaid decision trees and Bayes net classification models. Data was grouped as either fatal or non-fatal. The class imbalance due to fatal accident infrequency was considered and data transformation and sampling techniques were applied to increase prediction likelihood. Chaid was used for …

Knowledge Spaces : A Context-Driven Concept System Framework For Data Integration, William T. Sabados

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role of context in data integration. Traditionally, data integration solutions attempt to find semantic correlations between data sources and determine which elements match. These traditional solutions do not ask in what context the candidate data elements match, nor do they make an attempt capture it. Instead, they assume a single implicit "correct" context. This is odd considering how strong an effect context has in how people perceive, process, and make decisions based on the information available to them. The knowledge space framework introduced in this work remedies this shortcoming by introducing a formal way to capture …

Contributors To Infant Sleep: Factors Influencing Sleep Consolidation In Five- To Seven-Month Olds, Amber Leigh Evenson

Dissertations

Sleep is a universal construct that receives much attention in media and science, at least partially due to its importance as an essential component in development, health, and wellbeing. While undeniably vital, infant sleep is often variable and relatedly perplexing to parents. Around five-to-seven months of age, infants enter a time of quantifiable developmental change, impacting relational, cognitive, motoric, communicative and sleep behaviors. Because adequate sleep is considered one of the most indispensable precursors for developmental gains, factors that impact the progression of sleep are of interest. The current study utilized Ecological Theory to examine what variables impact sleep consolidation, …

Military Millennials As Next Generation Leaders: Do Leadership Traits Matter?, Phillip Michael Green

Dissertations

Employers are constantly evaluating individuals to fill leadership roles within their organizations to extract the highest return from their resources and investments. Millennials, born between 1982 and 2000 (Howe and Strauss, 2000), represent the youngest and newest generation entering the workforce. A sub-population of this generation consists of military veterans returning to the United States after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This quantitative study examines the leadership traits of the military Millennials that have transitioned to civilian life and compares this population segment with Millennials without a military background. To compare the two groups of the generational cohort, a …

A Case Study On Ethical Decision Making By Legislative Leaders And Their Motion To Approve The North Carolina Charter School Bill Of 2011, Moses Fox Iii

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the role that equity and ethics played in decision making by examining the perspectives of elected leaders in a case where members of the North Carolina legislature decided to lift the cap on charter schools by enacting the 2011 North Carolina Charter School Bill. The analysis was based on triangulated qualitative data from historical documents, written documents from the state’s legislative library, and interviews from consenting legislative leaders of North Carolina. The researcher used Colaizzi’s (1978) phenomenological data analysis protocol to explore and understand the participants’ lived experiences. Finally, a pattern matching …